


Real Magic

by extremelyperturbed



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, The magician's nephew
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Magic, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-09 02:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16441502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extremelyperturbed/pseuds/extremelyperturbed
Summary: Ryan buys antiques that once belonged to Andrew Ketterley, uncle of Professor Digory Kirke.  He believes that they can possibly lead him to another world.  Shane expresses his doubts.





	1. Chapter 1

"What's all that, Ryan?" said Shane as he saw Ryan looked through the contents of a box from England at their office at Buzzfeed. Ryan had been terribly excited when he received it two days ago and had been looking through it non-stop since then. 

"I bought some antique items that are said to have belonged to Andrew Ketterley."

Shane frowned. "Am I supposed to know that name?"

"He's not super famous but he did dabble in magic."

"You mean like David Blaine."

"No, I mean like universe bending magic. There were reports of a strange giantess briefly appearing in London in the summer of 1900. She robbed a jewelry store and was fighting with the police before mysteriously vanishing."

"So basically a woman my height committed grand larceny."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "No, no!" He pulled out a notebook and showed an article from a newspaper at the time with a sketch of a woman in strange dress towering over the populace. 

"What no photos?"

"There were cameras back then but nobody was expecting this to happen. Doesn't this intrigue you at all?" 

Shane shrugged. "I don't see what this has to do with Andrew Ketterley."

"The antiques dealer said that Ketterley's diary notes that he was instrumental in bringing her here and then away from London." 

"It could be a forgery," said Shane. "Or the ramblings of a man on opium." 

"Jesus Christ, do you enjoy being a Debbie Downer regarding everything I hold dear?"

"I'm just trying to rein in your expectations about this

"There were a lot of notes regarding having material from another universe and turning them into something that could draw you to its origin. It seems that he succeeded."

Shane eyed an ornate metal box covered in hieroglyphics. "What's in that box?"

"According to the notes, the box comes from Atlantis but the contents come from somewhere else, another universe."

Shane raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm going out to get some tacos. Interested?"

"Two carnitas and two carne asada, please. Also, a horchata if they have it or a coke if they don't." 

***

Sitting at his computer at home, Shane was outlining the next episode of the Hotdaga when his phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Shane, it's me, Brent."

"Oh, hey there."

"I was wondering if you have seen Ryan lately."

"I've seen him at work."

"I mean outside of work."

"No, not really, why?"

"He seems really obsessed with this Atlantis box multiverse thing. It's all he talks about."

"He talks about it at work, too."

Shane could hear Brent sighing. "Sometimes I wish we could do a reverse exorcism on him," said Brent.

Shane wheezed. "What does that entail?"

"Instead of shoving out a ghost, we could shove in technology and rationality." 

Shane chuckled. "Sorry, I don't know of any such ritual. Don't worry about it, he just has to get this out of his system when it inevitably doesn't work then it's back to spooks and aliens again."

"How's the Hotdaga going?"

"It's going great."


	2. Chapter 2

Shane was at his work desk considering subjects for his next Ruining HIstory video when he noticed Ryan walking in with his right eyebrow mostly singed. "Whoa, what happened?"

Ryan grimaced. "A lab experiment that didn't go right . . ."

"You might have to slap on some eyebrow pencil before the Q&A so people don't write hundreds of comments asking what happened."

"I don't have any eyebrow pencil."

"How about that one from that video we did . . ." Shane said, referring to the video where they did subtle, coverup makeup for a week. 

"I threw it away. Besides, you can't keep old makeup around. It's unsanitary."

"So still working on that Kettlecorn recipe?"

"It's Ketterley."

***

The next Monday, Shane was at his work desk sketching a scene from a future Hotdaga episode when Ryan walked in. "What happened to your other eyebrow?" Ryan's other eyebrow was singed as well. Hmm, maybe I should do a video about eyebrow fashion, Shane thought.

Ryan snapped, "I'm following his damn instructions and all I keep getting is stuff on fire and explosions!"

"Why don't you let me help you out? Or maybe Rie?"

"She's not a chemist."

"No but she made those tasty apple taters. I actually did OK in chemistry in high school. If you keep going the way you are, you're going to end up with your armpit hair and pubes on fire."

"Fine then."

"Shall I get Rie?"

"No, she's busy with her food stuff and I'd rather keep this between us." 

"Just don't blame me if it doesn't work because the recipe is crap."

***

"Are the flames supposed to be that color blue and that big?" said Shane as the spoonfuls of dust in the Pyrex beaker over the Bunsen burner began to glow and melt into a glowing sludge that threw off intense high flames. Ryan had set up a makeshift lab in the back yard because renting a lab was too expensive and he was too worried about poisonous fumes to want to do it inside the house.

"I don't think so," said Ryan. He had learned from his previous experiences and was already holding a fire extinguisher.

Shane took the other ingredients and began throwing them into the beaker while mumbling something under his breath. After a minute, the mixture had stopped throwing off flames and glowed in a more natural way. 

"What did you do?" said Ryan.

"I just switched the order of a couple of the added ingredients," said Shane as he stirred the mixture with a non-reactive rod. 

"Huh," said Ryan. "That's it?"

"Pretty much."

***  
"Wow, we actually made rings," said Ryan, starring at the four rings, two green and two yellow. It had taken most of the day and they were still cooling but they were definitely rings of the right colors. They also had a low humming noise that was weirdly compelling. 

"Before we touch those things, we really should pack," said Shane.

"I've already packed," said Ryan. He went inside the house and came out with his travel pack. "I've got my camera equipment, batteries, flashlights, and a couple bottles of holy water. And . . ."

"Why are you showing me a helmet and that safety vest?"

"We don't know what's on the other side."

"I really doubt Bigfoot is waiting to crack our heads there."

"There's still the Mothman. In any case, now that it's possible I'm kind of scared of actually going."

"You still go investigating ghosts even though you nearly piss your pants in terror at footsteps and tubes of toothpaste falling over. Eventually your curiosity and desire to see the unknown will overpower your sense of self preservation and will compel you to go," said Shane.

"Shane?"

"I'll be right back with my travel pack. Don't go off without me."

***

Ryan put on the yellow ring and his backyard disappeared. He was about to let out a scream as he then found himself underwater but realized he could still breathe and was being pushed towards the surface. As he got out of the water, he saw that he was in the middle of a quiet wood with seemingly infinite number pools of water a few yard away from each other that Ketterley had described in his notes. An odd calm descended upon him, stilling any impulse to panic. His feeling of calm was interrupted by seeing Shane come out of the pool next. 

"Oh, my God, it worked!" screamed Ryan gleefully. He noticed that Shane was standing a few yards away, not acting in any way shocked by this, merely pleasantly amused. "Don't you get this? Do you think this is some green screen?"

"No, no I get that it's real," said Shane. "Kettlecorn's recipe worked."

Ryan took some pictures of the wooded area. He noticed Shane was cutting some large triangles in the turf around the pool they had left. "What are you doing?"  
"All the pools look alike," said Shane. "I want to make sure that if we walk around, we know which pool we came out of."

Ryan realized that Shane was right. He briefly imagined having to jump into pool after pool, looking for their home pool. "Oh, yeah, that would be terrible. I just got the chills thinking of it. Which of these pools do we explore next?"

Shane pointed to one in particular. "That one."

"Why that one?"

"I have a good feeling about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/fzIht8JdObE is the makeup video I'm referring to. And yes, one should keep one's makeup on the fresh side.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where are we?" said Ryan. "And what are you doing?" They found themselves between a vast woods and a river. Shane was holding up his cell phone.

"I'm just checking for wifi. I don't see any. Why don't you try the spirit box and see if it can pick up a radio signal."

Ryan took it out of his pack and turned it on. It buzzed for a minute but there were no radio channels for it to detect. "I'm not picking up anything."

"Not conclusive but it does seem we're not anywhere near civilization, at least not ours."

"I don't know. It reminds me a bit of Willow Creek," Ryan said, referring to the town that claimed Bigfoot as its claim to fame. 

"Hello there!" said a stranger's voice.

"Who! Who said that!" said Ryan, startled.

A large Badger began walking towards them. "It's me."

"Hey there!" said Shane. "I'm Shane Madej and this is Ryan Bergara."

"I am called Trufflehunter," said the Badger.

"You can talk!" said Ryan, mouth agape. Why the hell aren't you freaking out? Ryan thought, seeing Shane's face completely free of any sign of shock.

"Of course, I can talk. True, not all animals can but I do. Are you lost?"

"We're travelers and we're not sure exactly sure where we are," said Shane. He did not seem the least bit flustered or disturbed by the fact that an animal was talking to him.

"You're in Narnia. Where do you hail from?"

"We're both from Los Angeles, California."

"I've never heard of such a place. But never mind that, follow me."

"Um, OK . . ." said Ryan.

***

"This is delicious," said Ryan as he and Shane sat on a blanket while the Badger served them a sweet, hot tea he had brewed in his den. 

Trufflehunter looked pleased at the praise. "I would invite you in but the furniture in my current den is a bit too small . . ."

"I totally understand," said Shane. "I prefer not to bump my head on your ceiling."

"Can I take a picture of you?" said Ryan.

"Picture? Do you mean like a painting?" he said, puzzled.

Ryan pulled out his cellphone and showed him how it took pictures. The Badger looked surprised and mildly impressed but did not seem overly interested. This is so not a selfie culture, Ryan thought.

"While we were walking here, you said that you came from another world and arrived here by chance," said Trufflehunter.

"Yes," said Ryan. 

"Are you looking for adventure?"

"Yeah, you could say that," said Shane.

Trufflehunter said, "Just yesterday, I got a letter from Reepicheep that King Caspian was looking to go on a voyage for a year and a day to look for the missing lords, friends of his father, as he promised at his coronation. He needs brave souls to sail with him all the way to the end of the world. Perhaps that is the reason you two have turned up here."

Ryan's first impulse was to turn it down as too time consuming but then he remembered that no time really passed in London while Ketterley, his nephew and his nephew's friend had been in Narnia. He could go on a voyage and still make it back to work on time or have someone worry enough to start an investigation of his disappearance. He was being offered a unique chance to see parts of the world even the Badger had never seen. "Perhaps . . ." he said.

"You won't get too seasick?" said Shane. "It's not going to be a cruise ship. You might end up living on hardtack and grog for months and have to fend off lady pirates while trying to keep your teeth from falling out.  
"  
"Shane, it's an opportunity of a lifetime!" said Ryan.

"Perhaps you should talk to King Caspian," said the Badger.

"What is King Caspian like? Is he a Badger, too?" Ryan had seen Trufflehunter wave hello to a passing Fox on the way here and hoped that the King was not a giant talking Bear. He figured that pissing his pants in front of the country's ruler would really embarrass his host.

"Oh, goodness no! He is a Son of Adam, just like you two. Oh, he's a good man. He will not demand from you what he wouldn't ask of himself." He then told the story of how he had met Caspian when he was still a Prince and how they had fought on the same side to make Narnia a country for everyone, not just Telmarines, the humans of the land. 

Ryan noticed that Trufflehunter mentioned people who came from elsewhere whose names sounded very much like regular English names. Other people have come here, he thought. 

"I could perhaps arrange transportation to his palace," said Trufflehunter. 

"That won't be necessary," said a low deep voice that was not overly loud but still seemed to reverberate through their chests.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryan and Shane turned to see a magnificent lion, one much larger than any from their own world. However, from its eyes shone an intelligence and knowledge and power to show that it was not merely a regular lion but the one Trufflehunter had referred to as the son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea. 

"Trufflehunter; Ryan Bergara, Son of Adam, and . . . Shane," said Aslan.

"Aslan!" cried Trufflehunter. 

"Hey, Aslan, it's me, ya boi!" said Shane. 

Ryan nudged Shane in the ribs. "Oh my God, what are you doing?" Ryan hissed. He hadn't felt this terrified since seeing that Timmy's blue ball had rolled under his name in Waverly.

"I haven't seen you in quite a while," said Aslan, facing Shane.

"I have been flitting here and there."

"Would you care to explain?"

"Ryan got a hold of some real magic and I made sure he didn't magic himself into pieces."

"So you care about his well-being."

"Absolutely."

"Trufflehunter, Ryan, I need to talk to him alone for a little while," said Aslan.

Trufflehunter took Ryan aside a short distance. "Did you know that Shane had previously met Aslan?"

"No, he never told me such a thing," said Ryan. "How could they have met before when this is the first time we've ever been here?" Ryan looked at the expression on Aslan's face. It was an odd mixture of aggravation and affection, a look that Ryan recognized from seeing it on his own face on Buzzfeed Unsolved videos. "Should we be worried?" said Ryan.

"We should not worry. I have full faith in Aslan and so should you."

A minute later, Shane waved them over to come back. Aslan turned to face the group generally. "Neither of you can join the expedition. I am here to send the two of you back to your world."

"Why? What did we do wrong?" said Ryan, feeling utterly crushed. "Shane, what did you say to him?"

"I didn't say anything to get us sent back," said Shane.

"I had already made my decision before this." Aslan said, "I have in mind three other people to join his crew at a later time. There is only so much room on the ship. Also . . . I want you to think hard about what would happen if a great number of the people of your world found their way here. Do you think they'd leave this untouched? Could you say that Trufflehunter who has already fought in a war to free Narnia would not have to fight another one?"

Ryan looked down. He knew that Aslan was right. "They'd ruin it."

"There's a reason why these worlds are kept separate and are hard to reach. Do not think of being sent away as a loss. Merely come here is a gift so rare that you should value your visit, short as it is, greatly."

"Can we ever return?" Ryan said, his voice cracking. 

"No, not here. I have told others who have visited before and loved this place more than their own homeland that they could not stay. It is not about blame or worthiness. Put your rings unto my paw. I can take you home without them and I am unaffected by them." 

Ryan and Shane put the rings on his paw. Aslan breathed on them and they turned back into the dust they had once been. A strong breeze scattered them. "I want you to take the dust from whence you created these rings and scattered it over the water. Then burn the notes that detail their making. I will know if you have done as I said."

***

Ryan felt better about being exiled from Narnia after talking with Father Thomas. For some reason, Father Thomas did not seem to think him mad or disturbed. Father Thomas seemed to see it as a non-demonic vision and saw it as a sign of divine intervention that prevented his use of magic from going horribly wrong. 

"Has Shane talked to you about this?" said Ryan.

"No, he has not contacted me at all about this," said Father Thomas.

The next day, Ryan walked over to Shane's desk at work. Shane seemed to be feverishly happy at work. "Ruining History?" said Ryan. 

"I'm finally ready to share my epic masterpiece again. Pam and Maizey landed their ship on the planet Narnia." 

"NO, NO, NO. Don't rope Narnia into this!" screamed Ryan. 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> The Magician's Nephew is actually a prequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. It talks about the Professor when he was young and why he's not at all fazed by the children's accounts of Narnia. It was written after The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe though. 
> 
> As for cameras, Kodak did manufacture portable cameras during 1900 but as this was a surprise incident, I didn't want to take it for granted anybody took a shot of it, especially a clear shot of the incident.


End file.
